It was here that she was taught by Harlan Ellison who became a mentor to her and publisher her work in his anthology The Last Dangerous Visions that never ended up being published. Butler’s breakthrough would occur when she attended the Open Door Workshop of the Writers Guild of America West, a program designed to mentor minority writers. This is also when the idea for Kindred came to her at a Black Power Movement event when a classmate criticized previous generations of African Americans for being subservient to whites. She would attend Pasadena City College at night after high school and this is when she earned her first success in writing, winning a short story contest. She got to work on the story and it became the basis for what would later become her Patternist series of books. She was 12 years old when she watched the television version of the film Devil Girl from Mars and decided that she could write a better story herself. At the age of 10, her mother bought her a Remington typewriter that allowed her to begin writing more. This lead to her being bullied at school and she passed her time reading science fiction at the local library. She had a tough childhood as she suffered from shyness and slight dyslexia. The genre was dominated by white males and her mother saw her hoped that she might one day become a secretary. She was also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing from the PEN American Center and is an inductee into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.īutler was born in Pasadena, California in 1947 at a time when young black girls were not expected to become writers. She won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1998 for her book, Parable of the Talents. She is perhaps best known for her novel, Kindred which follows an African-American woman who is transported from 1976 Los Angeles to early 19th-century Maryland where she meets her ancestors. Butler was a legendary writer in the world of science-fiction and the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. The topics and subject matter can be tough but if you’ve never read Butler before you will be in for a treat.Octavia E. I would recommend both books for readers who enjoy both mediums. I envisioned the scenes differently than they did but I enjoyed the book all the same. I relived every harsh moment in full color thanks to Damian Duffy and John Jennings. I quickly read the graphic novel version (in its entirety) the day after I devoured the original novel. There is so much physical and mental violence but these scenes show the strength it took to live through this time and it gives the main character, Dana, more depth because she doesn’t run from it. Her motivations centered on staying alive and keeping her family together, but once you realize what that means, there are never any right answers.īutler doesn’t shy away from how people lived during this era and it’s one of the most accurate depictions of slavery I have ever read. I loved the character Dana but couldn’t reconcile some of the decisions she made. Kindred is haunting and honest, but I had moments of frustration while reading it. I loved the writing and the storytelling, even though I don't know if I can say I "loved" the story. Then she immediately returns home to her time period, but things only get weirder after that. Before she can figure out what is going on, she saves a small white child’s life but is almost killed herself. Kindred is the story of Dana, a Black woman living in the 70s era Los Angeles. She is unpacking boxes at home when all of a sudden she disappears, and fall into the 1800s of the Pre-Civil War South. She is one of my favorite writers because the worlds she creates are vivid and timely, even though all of her published works are in our past. She is the first writer in this genre to receive the McAuthor Foundation “Genius” grant. My last book hangover came from Octavia Butler's most notable work about time travel, family ancestry, and sacrifice, Kindred.īutler is known throughout the science fiction world as the Dame of Science Fiction. It changes the way you exist in the world even though the world is exactly the same. Have you ever had a book hangover? It's when you finish a book and it leaves such an intense mark on your life that you are a bit unfocused and unable to continue on with your day.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |